Oriental Pied Hornbill Picture

Oriental Pied Hornbill is my picture of the week. I took this photo during my journey to Danau Girang in April 2012. This place is actually a field research center located in Lot 6 on the upper Kinabatangan River in Sabah Borneo. The boat journey here takes about 40 minutes form the Kinabatangan Bridge where the Miso Walai Homestay is located. While cruising upstream the river, you will see lots of birds around the area. Proboscis Monkeys and macaques are also a common sight along the way. In total, I must have seen at least eight Oriental Pied Hornbills (Anthracoceros albirostris) just in that one journey here.

Danau Girang Field Center along the Kinabatangan River is a collaborative research and training facility managed by Cardiff University and Sabah Wildlife Department. Those visiting this place will have a good chance to photograph the wildlife and birds and among the popular ones you will capture are the Oriental Pied Hornbill Pictures.

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Sipadan Island Diving Package

Sipadan Island Diving Packages range from anywhere between RM1900 to RM2300 and depending on where you stay at Mabul Island. You can actually book them from any tour agent or resort in Sabah Borneo. While you should note that the authorities only allow 120 permits per day means that there is a first come first serve basis here. Some places offer packages where if you stay a minimum of three nights, you get a free Sipadan Dive Trip. But most importantly, you should take a proper package if you want to visit Sipadan for diving.

Sipadan Island

Sipadan Diving Packages usually start early in the mornings and end just after lunch. Some packages offer you four dives while the common one is a three dive inclusive of morning tea and lunch on the island itself. If you do not know, there is no lodging on Sipadan Island. Divers stay at either Mabul Island, Kapalai Island or on the mainland of Semporna. The journey to Sipadan from Mabul is about 30 minutes while from Semporna town, it takes about an hour to get there.

 

 Dive boats parked at the Sipadan Drop Off

Once you reach Sipadan Island, you will notice there is only one jetty there. It is here where everyone must disembark and register at the Sabah Parks office. After you have done it, you get back on board and head out for your first dive. All rests are done back on the island as there is an area where your food and drinks are prepared by the respective dive companies.

 Blue Ribbon Eel seen at Sipadan

 Beautiful coral

While diving at Sipadan, you will experience one of the best diving in the world here. Some of the popular diving spots include the famous Barracuda Point (Top five dive spots in the world) where you get to see thousands of Barracudas in a school swim by. If you are lucky enough, you can see the vortex formation and be in it! Unfortunately in the picture below, I totally missed my opportunity to get into the vortex. The following pictures are from one of my Sipadan Dives.

Me trying to get into the Barracuda Vortex

School of Bumphead Parrot Fishes at about 7 meters deep at Barracuda Point

Green Turtles are a common sight at Sipadan

Diving at Sipadan Island

Barracudas in Sipadan

 Lunch on Sipadan Island

Lunch is pretty simple and done on the island itself. But don't expect a full spread buffet as it is quite basic with three dishes, white rice, fruit dessert, coffee, tea and cold water. However if you have any special request, you should inform your tour operator about it before your dive. Proper toilets are available in the next building as well.

A diver takes a break on the beach at Sipadan Island

After your second dive, you will most probably be so content that all you want to do is take a nap. The beautiful scenery will almost complete your fantasy until it's time for your third dive. And it's off to the jetty again, but you can be assured of some spectacular diving.

 

 School of Barracudas at Sipadan

 Clown Trigger Fish

White Tip Shark at Sipadan

Left - A diver surfacing, Right - Sunrise on the way to Sipadan Island 

Equator Adventure Tours is also  registered with the Sabah Tourism Board. Apart from diving packages around Sabah, the company also does a number of other related tours which include nature, shopping, cooking, sightseeing and island hopping tours. The travel company also handles Mabul Island Diving Packages for those wanting the best of scuba diving.

 

Equator Adventure Tours
Lot G5, Golden Centre Putatan, Putatan,
888863 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Hotline: (+6) 014 6752751
Tel: (+6) 088 766351
Mobile: (+6) 013 889 9535, (+6) 012-3802434

E-mail: pat@equator-adventure.com

 

 Sipadan Dive Sites

If you are interested in any Sipadan Diving Packages, please do contact Equator Adventure Tours who are based in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Borneo. Equator is no stranger to these diving packages in Sabah as they have been handling tours like these for a while now. You can choose the type of budget that you want for your dives too. However, when you visit this part of the world, you would not want to miss out on visiting Sipadan Island.

A 4 Days and 3 Nights Dive Package will cost about RM1900 which includes 6 dives around Mabul/Kapalai and 3 dives at Sipadan Island. It is also advised to book your dive at least two weeks in advance. The price also includes full board meals, rooms, equipment rentals and airport/boat transfers. All you need to bring is your sun block. For those who enjoy some drinking, you should also bring some extra money for this. Note that is no ATM machines on any of the islands here. For 5 Days and 4 Nights, the price is RM2000 for your Sipadan Island Diving Packages.

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Cherry Blossom in Kyoto 2012

Cherry Blossom in Kyoto 2012 is my picture of the week. I took this picture when I was visiting Japan in February and apparently, it was an early bloom for some of the Sakura Trees here in Kyoto. Usually the full blossoming season for the Cherry Blossoms are in April throughout Japan. I guess I was fortunate enough to catch this beautiful flowers when some of the trees here were in the early stages of blooming. This was also taken at the Chion-in Temple in Kyoto, Japan. Below is a series of Cherry Blossom Photos which I took. Update: I was informed that this is in fact a Pink Plum Blossom flower.

Cherry Blossom Trees in Kyoto on an early bloom

Pink Plum Blossom blooming in Kyoto

Apparently there are over one hundred cherry tree varieties found throughout Japan. A few of them are wild varieties native to Japan's forests, such as the Yamazakura, but the large majority of them have been cultivated by humans over the centuries for decorative use in gardens and parks. By far the most popular cherry tree variety today is the particularly pretty, cultivated Somei Yoshino (White/Pale Pink).

There are several characteristics differentiating the many cherry tree varieties. Among the many yaezakura varieties, the Kanzan (Pinkish) is one of the most numerous. One Kanzan blossom consists of as many as 30-50 pink petals while the fresh leaves are coppery brown. If you want to experience seeing these beautiful flowers, you should plan well ahead and follow the schedules of blooming for next year. Just for your information, I flew to Japan with AirAsiaX via Haneda Airport in Tokyo and took a Bullet Train to Kyoto. Good luck and hope you liked my pictures of the Cherry Blossom in Kyoto 2012.

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The Great Serpent Nag in Songkhla

The Great Serpent Nag in Songkhla is located in southern Thailand at Song Thale Park, Laem Son On in Songkhla City and it only takes about 1 hour to get here via car from Hat Yai. On my recent trip in April 2012 for the Songkran Festival in Hat Yai, our group of journalist was taken on a site visit to Songkhla and this was one of the unique places we visited.

Nag the great Serpent of Hat Yai, close up

There is a plaque with the inscription as follows: The Great Serpent "Nag" is the deity of the divine creation of water as well as fertility to all living things. The people of Southern Thailand believe that Nag sprays divine water so as to make people feel fresh and happy, as well as purify the blemishes which occur within our minds and bodies. As a result Nag is one of the most highly respected deities of Southern Thailand. Thus the local people frequently pay respect to Nag and ask him to forever bring happiness and good fortune to their life.

Top portion of Nag

In 2006 the Mayor of Songkhla -Mr Utitt Chuchouy, decided to create a monument which could forever bring good fortune, wealth, fertility and prosperity to the people of Songkhla City. He asked Mr Montri Sungmusikanon, a Thaksin University instructor, to design a sculpture to the deity Nag which would be divided into three sections. The first section is the serpent's head which symbolizes the intelligence and wisdom of the people of the city. The second section is the serpent's navel which symbolizes the city's riches. The last is the tail which symbolizes the charisma and strength of the community of the people. The sculpture's official opening ceremony was done in 2007.

What you see in the pictures here are only the first section of the head which is located on the northern area facing the port. The navel (second part) is sited on the front near the road up to Tang Kuan Hill and the tail (third part) is further down south. If you are driving to Hat Yai or Songkhla and using a GPS, here are the GPS coordinates to this statue: N 07° 13.632 E 100° 34.626

Nag - Spitting water into the ocean

If you are visiting Hat Yai, do take the opportunity to explore the outskirts of this city as there are a number of interesting places to see. There is the Hat Yai Cable Car at Hat Yai Park, Ice Dome, Songkhla Aquarium just to name a few. A day trip should be able to cover most of the attractions provided you have an early start. Moreover, if you are planning to attend the Songkran Festival (see my Songkran 2012 Pictures), it would be a good opportunity to take a day and visit The Great Serpent Nag in Songkhla.

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Russell Peters Live Show in Malaysia

Russell Peters Live Show in Malaysia 2012 - For the first time ever, one of the world's funniest comedians makes his way to perform a show in Malaysia under the Russell Peters Notorious World Tour. Who is he again? One of the biggest exports out of Canada, Russell is well known or his comedy punchlines "Somebody gonna get a hurt real bad" in which he tells a joke about his childhood with a traditional Indian father who would use corporal punishment and “Be a man!" while imitating an Asian trying to get him to pay more for an item at a shop. Now Malaysians can watch Russell Peters Live on Stage at Stadium Malawati in Shah Alam, Selangor on the 12th of May. We also wonder if he has any jokes about Malaysians when he performs here.

Somebody gonna get hurt real bad!

Russell Peters stand-up performances are mostly made up of observational comedy where he uses humor to highlight racial, ethnic, class and cultural stereotypes. He often refers his own life experiences growing up in an Indian family and impersonates various English accents of different groups in his act to poke fun at each group. His comedy special Russell Peters: Outsourced, aired on Comedy Central on August 16, 2006. Unfortunately it was censored on national TV but the DVD version features his uncensored performance selling over 100,000 copies.

Russell Peters

Having performed in over 30 countries, Russell is no stranger to huge audiences. One of his amazing feats was that his two shows in Dubai was sold out in 8 minutes this March 2012! Also, in 2008, he had the largest comedy show in UK history at London's O2 Arena with a total of 16,000 fans in attendance. He repeated that same feat in 2010 at Sydney, Australia's Acer Arena, where he had the largest comedy show in Australian history with over 13,000 fans in attendance.

Where to buy Russell Peters Malaysia Show Tickets?
You can buy them from Ticket Pro Malaysia.

Where and when is the Russell Peters Comedy Show being held?
Venue: Stadium Malawati, Persiaran Sukan, Seksyen 13, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Telephone: 03 8775 4666
Date: May 12, 2012
Time: 8.30pm

Russell Peters Website for more information. 

How to get to Stadium Malawati, Shah Alam?

• The best possible way via public transport is a taxi from Kuala Lumpur.
• Taxi will cost about RM25-RM40 one way.
• A Commuter Train Station (Batu Tiga Station) is about 1km from the stadium.
• You need to take a taxi to the stadium from the commuter station. (About RM5-8)
• After 11pm, there are no trains back to KL so you need to grab a taxi.
• Here are some Taxi Numbers you can call: Shah Alam Taxi, 03-5519 1740. Supercab, 03-7875 7333. Teletaxi, 03-9221 1011. Uptown Ace, 03-9283 2333. Wira Cab, 03-2144 3630
• The bus service is a little tricky so avoid if possible. 
• There are no LRT trains or stations near here.
• There are no attractions around the area so after the concert, you best head back to KL.
• Hotels are available around Shah Alam ranging from 3-5 Stars.

Russell Peters live in Singapore, Bangkok and Indonesia with dates below;
Bangkok - Thursday May 3rd
Singapore - Saturday May 5th
Jakarta - Thursday, May 10th - Tickets SOLD-OUT!

Just so you know, this is the first time the Canadian stand-up comedian will be preforming here in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. If you have been following the viral videos and email on him years ago, you will know that this is one show you would not want to miss. This would also be probably your only chance to catch Russell Peters Live Show in Malaysia 2012.

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Songkran 2012 Pictures

Songkran 2012 Pictures celebrated in Hat Yai, Southern Thailand. The massive water festival is celebrated from the 13-15th April and on the eve of Songkran, there was a special Midnight Songkran held here with a series of events taking place. The roads in the city were jam packed with many locals and foreigners who came out to celebrate the Thai New Year. A huge concert was held just in front of the Central Shopping Complex while throughout the main city area, there was many other things going on like Muay Thai, Thai Water Boxing, a Songkran Beauty Contest and a hive a of activities. Food wise, there were many choices of local Thai food sold throughout the streets here.

 Songkran 2012 in Hat Yai, Thailand - Splashing away

The highlight of Songkran 2012 was all about the water splashing time. Through the country, Thais and foreigners celebrated this festival with great fun. Pickup trucks, tuk tuks, motorbikes were seen in full force having a wonderful time. As this is my first ever Water Festival, I took the opportunity to roam the streets of Hat Yai, armed with my plastic bag covered camera, t-shirt, shorts and slippers to capture some of the fun moments of the Songrkan. And yes - I did get splashed. Many times too. But it was all in good fun. Below are various pictures taken in Hatyai for the Songkran 2012. Please click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Beautiful Thai girl in Hat Yai during the water festival

 Passengers on tuk tuks were not spared too

 Songkran Expressions

 Left: A kid with water gun back pack, Right: Girls gets splashed big time

Even other races are seen enjoying Songkran in Hat Yai, Thailand

 

Left: Girl gets a dousing, Right: Thai kids prepare for the fun

Splashing along the streets of Hat Yai

Young kid geared up with a huge water gun during the Songkran

If you have never been to this unique water festival, I would recommend you must try this one day. It is celebrated throughout the 77 provinces of Thailand and well known in the larger cities like Bangkok, Phuket and Hat Yai. The one thing about this stunning festival is that during the three days, everyone gets soaked  in good fun so if you dislike water, especially cold water, this is not for you. 

I really enjoyed walking the streets of Hat Yai, seeing how the locals celebrate the water festival. It runs from morning till night and usually very intense in the city. Even in the outskirts, it is active with locals driving around in their pickup trucks loaded with huge containers of water splashing anyone that comes to sight. The one thing you must remember, protect your phone and wallet/purse with plastic. Here are photos of the Hat Yai Midnight Songkran which was taken by me from 8pm till 2am.

As I write this, it is the first day of Songkran here in Hat Yai and I still have two more days to go so please do subscribe to Malaysia Asia as there will be follow up articles on this. Happy Songkran to all Thai's celebrating and hopefully without getting totally soaked, I can capture many more interesting Songkran 2012 pictures.

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Silver Leaf Monkey Picture

Silver Leaf Monkey is my picture of the week. These unique primates which are also known as Trachypithecus cristatus are found usually near coastal areas of Malaysia. The pictures here were taken in Sabah Borneo during one of my many trips there. They are usually harmless but very curious animals and at popular spots, they can be seen mingling with humans hoping to get some food.

Below is a series of photos which I took at Labuk Bay in Sabah Borneo. Labuk is actually known for the famous Proboscis Monkeys where you can see them in large groups and from a special viewing platform. There are specific viewing times so please check with the tour operators. While here, you have a chance to see the common long tail macaque (brown monkeys), Pied Hornbills and the Silver Leaf Monkeys.

Silver Leaf Langur left profile shot

Silver Leaf Monkey right profile shot

Silver Leaf Monkey close up shot

Silver leaf monkey full body shot

For those interested in seeing these beautiful grey-black primates, you can do so at a number of places round Malaysia. If you are visiting Selangor, you can also see these Silver Leaf Monkeys at Bukit Malawati with a day trip there. Otherwise, they can be found in many other states especially at national parks by the coast. One popular place to see these primates is also at the Kinabatangan River in Sabah. If you are on Pinterest, feel free to pin these shots. Hope you enjoyed my Silver Leaf Monkey pictures.

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KLIA 2 Construction

KLIA 2 Construction is still ongoing to meet the opening on early 2013. According to a press statement in early March 2012, the construction is now at 45% completed and as per scheduled. To overall cost is now estimated be­­tween RM3.6bil and RM3.9bil, at least 80% more than its provisional budget of RM2bil. Upon completion, the new terminal is estimated to have the capacity to serve up to 45 million passengers annually which is three times the capacity of the existing LCCT.

During one of my many trips there and back, I managed to take some photos of the ongoing construction of the new KLIA2 Airport in Sepang in early January 2012. While some still term it as LCCT 2, it is official that the name is Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 or KLIA2. Below are the various pictures of the site. Click the photos to view them in full size.

Bridge leading to KLIA2

View of the main terminal being constructed

Another view of the many cranes at work here

 

Overall view from the main road to the construction site of KLIA 2

Read my previous article for pictures, visualizations and more detailed information on KLIA 2. While those interested in the KLIA2 Tender, you should visit the official KLIA2 Retail Site for more information. At the moment, many are awaiting this new airport terminal in Sepang as it will be so much more convenient to have both terminals just next to each other. For now, when you drive pass on your way back from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, you can easily see the current KLIA 2 Construction site on your left.

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